PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - Exploring the Value of Qualified Default Investment Alternatives
Legal Alert | DOL Opens ESG Door: What Does It Mean for Plan Fiduciaries?
PODCAST: Williams Mullen's Benefits Companion - What Constitutes Plan Assets Under ERISA?
Corporate Fiduciaries Holding Cryptocurrency - Digital Planning Podcast
Legislation Discussion with PA State Senator Tom Killion
Discussion of PA’s Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act
Under recently finalized federal regulations (commonly referred to as the “Fiduciary Rule”) that were scheduled to become effective on September 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor intended to expand the fiduciary...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) has issued a new regulation defining fiduciary “investment advice” under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as amended, and Section 4975 of the Internal Revenue Code of...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on April 23, 2024, issued the Retirement Security Rule (the Final Rule), which expands who qualifies as an investment advice fiduciary for purposes of the Employee Retirement Income Security...more
The Department of Labor ("DOL") recently issued a regulatory package that includes a final rule updating ERISA's definition of an investment advice fiduciary and amending certain related prohibited transaction exemptions...more
The Department of Labor (DOL) recently released the Retirement Security Rule - yet another iteration of its updated fiduciary rule that has been kicking around the agency for over a decade....more
Commonly referred to as "excessive fee" litigation, class actions that allege retirement plan investments charge too much and earn too little have increased over the past two decades. Excessive fee cases are difficult to...more
On April 23, 2024, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) issued updates to the investment advice fiduciary regulation, formally called the “Retirement Security Rule” and generally referred to as the “DOL Fiduciary...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its final “investment advice rule” on April 23, 2024 — set to become effective in September — after several failed attempts, years of deliberations and multiple lawsuits. If not...more
What has changed with the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) final regulations and certain prohibited transaction exemptions (PTEs)? Is it really that bad even for plan sponsors, as we hear from the many critics of the DOL’s...more
On Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) released its new final rule (the “Final Rule”) regarding when a person becomes a “fiduciary” by virtue of providing investment advice for purposes of the...more
Following previous failed attempts to expand the fiduciary liability of financial services providers, the DOL released a new rule that broadens the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA. The new rule is expected to face...more
On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released its final amendment to Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 84-14, known as the Qualified Professional Asset Manager (QPAM) exemption. The QPAM exemption is...more
This newsletter provides updates employers should be aware of heading into 2024, including an outline of the updated 2024 retirement and welfare plan limits, instructions related to the “gag order” attestation requirements...more
On Tuesday, October 31, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (the "DOL") issued a new proposed rule pertaining to the definition of “fiduciary” under ERISA and Section 4975 of the Code. If adopted, the proposed rule would...more
On Friday, November 3, the Federal Register published the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) latest attempt to redefine who is an “investment advice fiduciary” under ERISA. In conjunction with the regulatory proposal, the...more
The Department of Labor (“DOL”) on October 31, 2023—Halloween—issued a release (the “Release”) proposing to make changes to the 1975 rule (the “1975 Rule”) defining when institutions and individuals are providing fiduciary...more
Responding to the “terrifying” reality that conflicted investment advice is costing retirement savers billions of dollars each year, on October 31, 2023, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued proposed rules representing its...more
On September 21, 2023, Judge Kacsmaryk (N.D. Texas), a famously conservative Trump-appointed jurist, upheld a Department of Labor rule promulgated by the Biden Administration that enables employee retirement plans to consider...more
On September 21, 2023, a federal judge in Texas granted summary judgment in, and thus dismissed, a lawsuit filed by the Attorneys General of 25 states and other interested parties challenging a final rule issued by the U.S....more
The United States is in the process of transitioning ESG disclosure from voluntary, market-led reporting to a regulatory-driven scheme, principally led by the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) anticipated (but...more
Fiduciaries responsible for the investment of almost $30 trillion in U.S. retirement funds are required by federal law (ERISA) to discharge their duties “solely in the interest of participants and beneficiaries” for the...more
The Department of Labor (the DOL) has released its final rule clarifying how and when ERISA fiduciaries may consider ESG factors in making investment decisions for a plan. The rule also offers substantial guidance on the...more
The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has issued a final rule (the “Final Rule) addressing how ERISA fiduciaries may consider environmental, social and governmental (ESG) factors in making investment decisions for retirement...more
Summary - The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released Proposed Regulations for plan fiduciaries on the role Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations should play in investment decisions....more
The US Department of Labor (DOL) recently issued guidance concerning a new exemption under the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) in connection with the provision...more